I've been a big fan of Rhapsody for a couple of years now. It's installed on my system currently, and I'm dreading the day that my trial subscription finally runs out (January 16, 2007, for those keeping track).

The current model for Rhapsody seems to be partnerships. The company has launched a series of deals with companies recently, including TiVo, AOL Video, MTV, Verizon, and even America's favorite square burger cookery, Wendy's. And Real continues the forward brand expansion by finally getting in the Facebook app game.

The plug-in offers similar functionality to Rhapsody.com, allowing non-members the ability to stream up to 25 free songs a month. Those who want more will have to pony up subscription fees, $10 and $15 for the standard streaming and to-go models, respectively.

I like sites like Pandora, Last.fm, and Slacker, but the true benefit of those sites is their recommendation engines. If you're the sort of user who knows exactly what you're looking for, personalized Internet radio can be rather maddening. With Rhapsody, I can while away the work day listening to the complete back catalogs of 70s prog-rockers Supertramp and Jamaican protest calypso singer The Mighty Sparrow.

The thing is, free alternatives are beginning to creep up on that side of things, as well. Take Imeem, which recently closed a deal with Universal--the fourth and final major label to enter into an agreement with the company. Rhapsody still likely has a larger library, numbering in the millions, but as free streaming alternatives continue to grow, Rhapsody is going to have to rethink its paid subscription game-plan, which not too long ago was being touted as the model that was going to replace Apple's dominant store.

As The New York Times' Bits blog points out, the truly cool feature of Rhapsody's Facebook app is its ability to read your favorite music list. It's also, of course, a chance to show off your listening habits to all your friends, which is really a big part of what these social networking sites are all about in the first place.

About the Author

Brian Heater has worked at a number of tech pubs, including Engadget, Laptop, and PCMag (where he served as Senior Editor). Most recently, he was as the Managing Editor of TechTimes.com. His writing has appeared in Spin, Wired, Playboy, Entertainment Weekly, The Onion, Boing Boing, Publishers Weekly, The Daily Beast and various other publications. ... See Full Bio

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